Sarcopenia finds many of us some day
if we live long enough! Muscle degeneration comes
with aging. Many of us won’t escape it. Sarcopenia is
the degenerative loss of skeletal muscle mass, quality
and strength that goes with aging. But back pain severity
is more related to back muscle
degeneration than sarcopenia. The more back muscle degeneration, the more
back pain is experienced. (1) Vancouver Spine Care Centre takes
care of older Vancouver back pain patients to manage their back pain and manage its impact on
their lives as they age gracefully.
MUSCLE DEGENERATION AND LIFE EXPERIENCE
Aging and life affect muscle strength. A recent
report states that after having
had a back surgery, post-surgical back pain patients’ MRIs revealed
muscle degeneration in all patients. Type 2 fatty degeneration
was most frequently seen over other types of changes like inflammation
and scarring. (2) Muscle degeneration contributes to
patients’ experiences of back pain.
Listen to this PODCAST
with Dr. James Cox on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr.
Michael Johnson who shares how Cox® Technic helps patients
who have had back surgery get their back muscles and
spine back into shape, no matter their age.
BACK PAIN AND MUSCLE DEGENERATION IN OLDER FOLKS
Chronic changes in back muscles occur
throughout the spine in the long run. Acute changes right
after injury are seen within a few days.
Researchers wanted to know if these changes came
before or after the injury. They found that the multifidus
muscle decreased quickly after lumbar injury at the level of
injury. (3) In the latest study of patients over 65
years of age, 40% of chronic low back pain patients had
sarcopenia. 26.6% of the control group (those who didn’t have
chronic low back pain) had sarcopenia. The skeletal
muscle mass was much lower and body fat ratio was much higher
in the chronic low back pain patients. Lumbar multifidis and
erector spine muscles were much lower in the chronic low back
pain group, too. (4) Vancouver chiropractic patients with sarcopenia deal
with back pain and other issues that chiropractic tackles.
SARCOPENIA PAIN AND OTHER ISSUES’ EFFECTS
Vancouver Spine Care Centre sees males and females with sarcopenia
and other spinal problems in its Vancouver
chiropractic practice. Sarcopenia in
patients with lumbar spinal stenosis was much more prevalent in
females than males over 70 years old. In another study,
13.9% of patients had sarcopenia which was accompanied
by dyslipidemia and cardiovascular disease. They also had lower
body weight, body mass, grip strength, and walking distance. These patients felt
pain more deeply. (5) Your Vancouver chiropractor knows
this and gently manages their experience of pain and its source
with gentle chiropractic treatment and exercise.
CONTACT Vancouver Spine Care Centre
Schedule a Vancouver chiropractic
appointment with Vancouver Spine Care Centre for back pain issues associated
with sarcopenia and degenerated back muscles. Aging, back pain and degeneration do not have to prevent you from enjoying your life!